Strings of diamonds, cascades of champagne and tens of millions of dollars worth of gifts would be considered ostentatious at any wedding. But in Burma - one of the poorest countries in Asia - people are said to be up in arms at the luxury on display in a video of the wedding laid on by the head of the junta, General Than Shwe, for his daughter. Recently posted on the internet, the leaked 10-minute clip has provided ammunition for opponents of the military regime, who claim that spending on the couple’s marriage in July was more than three times the state health budget. In the most opulent sequence, the camera zooms in on glittering jewelled clusters in the hair of the bride, Thandar Shwe, then pans down from her diamond ear-studs to at least six thick strings of what appear to be diamonds.... http://www.guardian.co.uk

The European Union has dropped plans to hold a last-ditch meeting with Turkish and Cypriot officials, to be hosted by Finland in Helsinki at the weekend. Finland said it was unable to get all sides around the table - but that it would keep trying for a breakthrough. The meeting was meant to avert a crisis in Turkey's bid for EU membership. The European Commission publishes a report next week that is expected to criticise Turkey for not opening its ports to traffic from Cyprus. Cyprus is a member of the EU, but Turkey does not recognise it. The island was divided in 1974, when Turkey invaded the north after a coup backed by supporters of a union with Greece. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6110126.stm

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Kyrgyzstan's capital on Thursday demanding the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev who they say has backtracked on promises of democratic reforms.About 15,000 people massed outside the Central Asian state's parliament, according to Reuters estimates, waving red opposition flags and chanting "Bakiyev, resign." Most had dispersed by the evening although another demonstration is planned for Friday. The Kyrgyz president said in a television interview he would not easily be toppled. "We have sufficient forces. The law enforcement agencies are in a determined mood, the military are saying, how much more of these (protests) can you have?" Bakiyev told Russia's Rossiya television station. ...http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2623946

A US soldier who was visiting his Iraqi wife when he was kidnapped has been named today by the US military as Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie.The 41-year-old was handcuffed and taken away by gunmen 10 days ago when visiting his wife and in-laws, Major General William Caldwell confirmed.He said the couple had married in February 2005, but that Mr Taayie, who is an interpreter with the US army, did not start his tour of duty in Iraq until a year ago.Gen Caldwell said there was "an ongoing dialogue" with his Mr Taayie's abductors to win his release. He did not say with whom, or at what level.The soldier's name first became known last week when his mother in law, Latifah Isfieh Nasser, said the family had put up a futile struggle to stop the abduction....http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1937951,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

Businesses and insurance companies are starting to eye the potential savings of outsourcing health care from the world's richest country to the developing world. "It's just one of the many ways in which our world is flattening," said Arnold Milstein, chief physician at New York-based Mercer Health & Benefits, who's researching the feasibility of outsourcing medical care for three Fortune 500 corporations. "Many companies see it as a natural extension of the competition they've faced in other aspects of their business." With an estimated 45 million uninsured Americans, some 500,000 trekked overseas last year for medical treatment, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. Asian hospitals in Thailand, India and Singapore have long been swarmed by medical tourists looking for tummy tucks and face lifts, but many glitzy, marble-floored facilities are now gaining reputations for big-ticket procedures including heart surgery, knee and back operations. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2623881

France says it will release classified documents on the Rwandan genocide, after claims that French troops were complicit in the 1994 massacre. Some 105 documents will be given to a magistrate investigating the claims by four genocide survivors. Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie took the decision on the recommendation of France's defence secrets commission. The plaintiffs accuse soldiers of rape, murder and complicity "in genocide and/or crimes against humanity". The Rwandan Tutsis, aged between 25 and 39, have brought their case against the French military in the French courts. During the genocide some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists. French troops were sent to Rwanda as part of a United Nations force. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6110646.stm